Spectro Jet-Care's new optical imaging equipment gives a 3-D view of metal chips from aircraft engines, gearboxes and hydraulic systems. This 200x view also allows for analysis of how the chip was sheared.

Spectro Jet-Care (Booth No. 6933)–which provides laboratory analysis of aircraft oil, fuel, hydraulic fluid and debris–has added advanced optical imaging equipment to its arsenal of tools at its facilities in New Jersey, the UK and Switzerland. The company holds accreditations, approvals or preferred supplier status for all engine and aircraft manufacturers, including Turbomeca, Airbus Helicopters, AgustaWestland, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Sikorsky.

The new equipment allows extremely detailed analysis of chips found on magnetic chip detectors or debris found within fluid samples, the company said. It also provides a depth of field and resolution that is better than that of conventional optical microscopes, as well as allows the ability to view the magnified images in 3-D.

“The manufacturers are keen on seeing these highly detailed 3-D images,” Spectro Jet-Care sales and marketing manager Alan Baker told AIN. “This adds a new dimension to the chip analysis because now we can show just how the metal sheared, not just what material it is.”

The company analyzes thousands of metal chips per year from aircraft engines and helicopter main and tail rotors. For AOG situations, it can analyze chips and send a detailed report back to the operator and OEM within one to two hours of receipt of the specimens. Spectro Jet-Care will still provide the report in less than one day for non-AOGs. The analysis service costs about $400 per event, Baker said.

To assist customers in gathering and submitting debris for analysis, Spectro Jet-Care has launched a new Chip Card Wallet, which is being distributed for free here this week at its Heli-Expo booth.